I make sculptures that are categorized into veins of work. Each focuses on a distinctive narrative, material makeup, procedure, and form. My sculptures preserve my memories, Italian-American heritage, embellished imaginings of loved ones, passion for tennis, and locale through the use of diverse materials that converge into multifaceted vignettes.
My work ranges from intimate objects to large-scale constructions. I gather materials that relate to my boyhood musings, such as discarded “clinker” bricks, animal bones, insect parts, and plant matter. Once I bring these elements into my workspace, I integrate them with carved wood, ceramic, and cast metal components that I produce en masse. The results are entities that embody everything that is meaningful to me. I fashion unique tools, invent procedures, and implement surface treatments derived from substances that relate to the body, such as lipstick, hosiery, and urinal cake. These materials are personally connected to me and evoke specific memories, which I immortalize with a thorough drenching of various resins.
I decadently apply surface treatments to channel a baroque ecstasy. I aim to slow viewers' recognition of what they’re seeing and make objects that appear both new and familiar. I create unique color combinations, explore the ways light reflects or absorbs, and experiment with textures. My sculptures often have asymmetrical balletic silhouettes or explosive celestial shapes. These works encompass the full spectrum of emotions I experience during production. A sculpture is complete when it holds a commanding presence.
Daniel Giordano (b. 1988, Poughkeepsie, NY) is an artist based in Newburgh, NY. Daniel earned his MFA from the University of Delaware in 2016. He participated in the AIM Fellowship at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in 2021 and EmergeNYC fellowship at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics in 2015. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA (2023); Turley Gallery, Hudson, NY (2023); JDJ, New York, NY (2023); Ann Street Gallery, Safe Harbors of the Hudson, Newburgh, NY (2022); the Rosenberg Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (2020); Wil Aballe Art Projects, BC, Canada (2019); and Sardine, Brooklyn, NY (2019), among others. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Grimm, New York, NY (2024); The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Bronx, NY (2024); Helena Anrather, New York, NY (2023); The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY (2022); The Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, NY (2022); Fortnight Institute, New York, NY (2022); CLEA RSKY Offsite Project, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY (2022); Zürcher Gallery, New York, NY (2022); Fridman Gallery, New York, NY (2022); Barns Art Center, East Fishkill, NY (2021); JDJ, New York, NY (2021); and Anonymous, New York, NY (2021), among others. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Arcade Project, XIBT Magazine, Berkshire Eagle, ABC Latino Magazine, Tussle Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Times Union, La Voz, Sculpture Magazine, Frontera Digital, Whitehot Magazine, Chronogram, Canadian Art, Cultured Magazine, and Art Spiel, among others. His solo exhibition, Crystal Blue Persuasion, at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY opens in June 2024.
@danielgiordano
danieljgiordano@gmail.com
“His sculptures speak of apocalypse and decadence, flushed with the impishness that is vital to surviving chaos, even reveling in it.”
“His work is startling, he negotiates issues of taste with nonchalance, allowing high culture to mix easily with the popular and the mundane.”
“That Giordano confronts us with such a visual no-holds-barred screed of who he is can help us awaken to who we are as human beings.”
“Giordano’s delirious tinkering with the glory and gore of his free-style mashups produces an extravaganza all its own.”
“The details are strangely specific, as in dreams, which is due to the care the artist gives to the long multistage process that each piece demands; casting, varnishing, baking, soaking, drying, plating, gilding, and more. Each step tweaks the whole into a category specific to the artist, while it further nudges the created form towards absurdity, or perhaps the sublime.”